Speaking at the Eastern and Southern Africa Private Sector Forum on Irrigation, Muriithi said public funding alone cannot finance the 10-year plan. The plan targets one million new irrigated acres and the optimisation of a further 319,000 acres in existing schemes. About 762,000 acres are currently under irrigation, so the plan would take the total to roughly 1.76 million acres. Muriithi called on commercial banks, development partners, equipment suppliers and agribusinesses to invest in the sector. He added that public financing alone cannot get Kenya there and it was not designed to.
The 61 percent private share works out to about Sh365 billion of the plan's total cost of about $4.6 billion. The government describes the plan as a framework that brings government, donors, banks, suppliers and agribusinesses together under one accountability structure and one set of outcomes.
To attract that investment, the government is working with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on the Kenya Resilient Irrigation for a Sustainable Economy (K-RISE) programme. It offers first-loss and partial credit guarantees to commercial banks, microfinance institutions and SACCOs that develop irrigation-specific loan products. A Patient Capital Facility will provide longer-term financing for irrigation equipment suppliers and last-mile financiers, who need longer repayment periods.
Access to affordable credit has been the main barrier. Officials have noted that many farmers lack collateral, while banks view irrigation equipment loans as too risky.
The government has identified 10 irrigation schemes covering 14,819 acres and about 52,115 farmers for a pilot programme. The schemes produce rice, maize, horticultural crops, vegetables, potatoes, onions and avocados.
